On 27th February…

On 28th February…

364 - Valentinian I became Roman Emperor. In 399, he managed to restore order to Roman rule in Britain after the native tribes had rebelled and managed to overthrow the Romans that were in control. Valentinian had to send a large army, headed by the General Theodosius, which used soldiers from all over the Roman Empire, in order to try and gain control once more. The local Celts had overthrown the Romans and had been running the country for nearly two years. Less than fifty years later all the Romans left Britain to tackle other problems on the European continent.

On 1st March…

On 2nd March

1316 - King Robert II of Scotland was born. He was the son of Walter the Steward and became the hereditary Steward of Scotland at the age of 10 years. He was heir to the Scottish throne through his mother who was the daughter of King Robert the Bruce. Robert II became king when he was nearly 55 years old, he was the first of the Stewart (or Stuart) kings who eventually went on to rule England as well as Scotland.

On 3rd March…

1284 - King Edward I issued The Statute of Rhuddlan which incorporated the Principality of Wales into England. This meant that from that day onwards the people of Wales had to abide by English law.

On 4th March…

1824 - The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) was founded by Sir William Hillary in a London Tavern. At the time there were around 1,800 shipwrecks around the coast of Britain every year and Sir Hillary refused to sit by and watch more and more people die from drowning. Living on the Isle of Man he had witnessed many shipwrecks first-hand and had helped to save many lives. He decided it was high time that something was done and gathered the support of prominent businessmen to set up the Institution. Did you know that it was originally called the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck?

1890 - The Forth Bridge was opened in Scotland. At the height of its construction there were about 4,600 workers employed in the building of the bridge. Building it was not the safest of jobs, over 50 people died and in one logbook alone there were 26,000 reports of accidents and sickness.

On 5th March…

1790 - Flora MacDonald the Jacobite heroine who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape dressed as a maid died. She was imprisoned in the Tower of London for aiding his escape but was later pardoned and released.